


Amor Renovatus

by fangvi



Category: NCT (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Royalty, Arranged Marriage, Hate to Love, M/M, Other Ships Not Mentioned in Tags, Past Relationship(s), Post-Break Up, Slow Burn, Slow Romance
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-02-20
Updated: 2021-02-20
Packaged: 2021-03-17 13:41:31
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,484
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29593644
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/fangvi/pseuds/fangvi
Summary: Minhyung clears his throat before opening the letter and reading it to Jaemin. "To the King, his prince and the Crown Prince of Angelus, we have agreed to let our prince marry your Crown Prince. The only requirement is that he must treat our prince fairly; Otherwise, we will cut the engagement off."Minhyung gasps before reading the next part. "Sincerely, King and Queen of Solis."Jaemin's eyes snap open as Jeno gasps beside him."King and Queen of what?"
Relationships: Lee Donghyuck | Haechan/Na Jaemin
Comments: 2
Kudos: 26





	Amor Renovatus

**Author's Note:**

> I had a weird dream last night. This is the result of it.
> 
> This chapter will be short but the next will be a bit longer, just a heads up !!
> 
> Twitter is @vampviian !!

The corridors are quiet; As per usual. The floor, covered in a carpet with decorations of designs littered on it, is clean, yet it’s designs are fading away. Crown prince Na Jaemin walks on it, taking slow strides as his chin is tilted upwards, arms clasped behind his back. He keeps a stern face, eyes focused in front of him, back straight. Like this, he looks intimidating. As if he wishes to be perceived in the most respectful way possible. As if he wants everyone around him, his servants, his family, his kingdom to bow down to him and worship him as if he were a deity.

His knight of honor walks next to him, posture nearly the same as Jaemin’s, but a bit more humbled. He sighs as they take a turn into Jaemin’s room, the prince lightly pulling his knight in and closing the door behind them.

“Your highness,” His knight starts as Jaemin sits down on his bed. “How long are you going to keep this up?”

“Keep what up?” Jaemin asks, eyes refusing to meet his knight’s. “I’m doing nothing but being quiet.”   
  
“Exactly,” His knight walks over to his bed and kneels in front of him. “You’re ignoring everyone. You didn’t even speak at dinner. You didn’t even meet their eyes, for Angelus’ sake.”

Jaemin takes a deep breath before speaking. “I’m simply thinking, Minhyung.”

“And thinking of  _ what _ , exactly?” Minhyung dares to question. “Your highness. I respect you. If you prefer to be quiet and ignore everyone, I will respect that and I will not question you. However, you have been doing this for as long as I can remember and it’s getting a bit concerning. You never even come out of your bedroom!”

Jaemin doesn’t respond. Even after Minhyung shares his concerns, he doesn’t meet the knight’s eyes and looks over to the mirror instead, looking into his own two brown eyes, silently judging himself.

“It’s just what I prefer,” He replies.

Minhyung sighs. “Alright, my prince.”

The knight slowly stands up and walks over to his side of the room, sighing as he finally lays down after a long day of work. Jaemin’s eyes follow his body, dropping over to his motionless hands, which lay atop his head, resting on the pillow. Jaemin looks back down at his own hands, fingers clenching over his palms and unclenching repeatedly. He sighs softly.

Without a word, he turns off the light and lays in his own bed, eyes closing to a dream he knows he will not be able to forget in the morning.

❁❁❁

_ “Angelus seems very charming,” Donghyuck says as he looks around Jaemin’s home kingdom, Angelus. “I suppose you are, too?” _

_ Jaemin hums. “You could say that. You seem like quite the charmer, too.” _ _  
_ _  
_ _ Donghyuck smirks and turns to him. Jaemin doesn’t meet his eyes, but faces his direction as well. “Wouldn’t you like to know?” _

_ Jaemin startles. “Is that a threat?” _

_ “Not necessarily,” Donghyuck says. “Unless you’d like it to be one.” _ _  
_ _  
_ _ Jaemin shakes his head and faces his castle. The colorful stripes of pinks and greens on Angelus’ flags settled in the front make him feel a bit more at home, distracting him from the unsettling feeling he gets from being next to Lee Donghyuck, from Kingdom Solis. _

_ He sighs. “What kind of threat is it?” _

_ “A good one,” Donghyuck states. _

_ Jaemin huffs. “Show me your ways, then.” _ _  
_ _  
_ _ Donghyuck chuckles. “You won’t be disappointed, my prince.” _

❁❁❁

When Jaemin was little, just a young boy, his favorite thing to do when he was out was to stare up at the four flags placed in the front of his castle. Each was the same, shades of pastel pink and green coating it’s symbol, the symbol of two small angel wings, symbolizing his kingdom’s purity. It had always made him feel safe, it made him feel reminded of who he was, thus making his identity crisis a bit less traumatizing.

To this day, he still enjoys watching his flags sway from side to side in the wind, on the days that he doesn’t feel like he belongs. It’s better than to complain to his mothers, like he has done before. It feels quite burdening, to say the least, to explain to them on why he doesn’t feel like a normal prince.

He bites on his lower lip gently as he sets down his glass of water on the table, arms crossing on his chest. He closes his eyes when he hears footsteps approaching behind him.

“Your highness,” His knight states. “Prince Lee Jeno of Lamia would like to see you. He is at the front of the castle.”

The urge to jump up and down and squeal with delight is tempting, but Jaemin pushes it down. “Let him in.”

Moments later, Jeno walks in, his own knight of honor walking beside him. Jaemin opens his eyes and watches as Jeno sits down on the chair beside Jaemin with a smile on his face, clearly delighted to see him.

“Jaemin!” Jeno exclaims. This time, Jaemin meets the elder’s eyes with a small smile on his face. “Hi!”

“Hello, Jen,” Jaemin replies as the prince hugs him tightly. “How was your trip to Solis?”

“Oh, it was magical,” Jeno sighs. “I loved it. It was the dream. The citizens were so kind and friendly,” Jeno smiles dreamily as he clasps his hands together and leans in the chair. “I wouldn’t mind to go back, even for just a day.”   
  


Jaemin smiles. “Good, that’s good. I’m happy for you.”

“Oh!” Jeno gasps. “You won’t believe who I met there!” He waves his fists around excitedly, a thing he does when he’s happy. “I met the man of my dreams. You know, the prince’s knight of honor? Gosh. He’s amazing.”

Jaemin blinks. “Wha-”

“He was so outgoing and friendly!” Jeno squeals as he grasps onto Jaemin’s shoulders and rocks the poor prince back and forth. “A true gentleman! I absolutely fell for him!”

“Prince Lee, please keep your hands to yourself,” Minhyung warns.

  
Jeno pouts and slumps in his chair, letting go of Jaemin. “I’m sorry.”

“Oh, please, Minhyung.” Jaemin sighs. “Leave him alone, he’s just excited to see me. Can’t best friends be excited?”

Minhyung clears his throat. “My apologies, your highness.”   
  


“Right. Jeno, would you like a pastry? A small piece of cake?” Jaemin offers.

Jeno beams at him. “Sure.”

Jaemin doesn’t even have to say anything. He watches as Minhyung walks over to the counter and washes his hands quickly before cutting a piece of cake and serving it on a plate to Jeno. Jeno thanks him before grabbing the fork next to him and cutting a piece of the cake.

“It’s red velvet,” Says Jaemin. “I hope you like it. Minhyung and I made it.”   
  


Jeno nods. “It’s good! You baked it well.”

Minhyung walks over and whispers to Jaemin. “I need to go check on the other knights. I’ll be back,” And with that and a nod from Jaemin, he’s gone.   
  


“So,” Jaemin places his folded hands on the table. “Are your fathers doing alright?”

“Yes, of course,” Jeno nods again as he sets the fork down and cleans his mouth with a napkin. “They’re doing swell. The trip to solis really helped them relax. My sister, too. She’s been worried day and night over her coronation as Queen of Lamia, and it’s seriously concerning, but I try to soothe her a bit. I try to encourage her, you know?”

Jaemin hums. “Has she found anyone to be her partner?”

Jeno smiles. “Mhm! She’s found a villager in the kingdom who she really likes. My parents haven’t met her yet, but I think they’ll like her.”

Jaemin’s brows raise surprisingly. “A villager?”

“Yeah… My fathers might not be too happy about it, but…” Jeno sighs. “She fits the criteria to be a princess, so…”   
  


“Oh my,” Jaemin replies. “I hope it goes well.”

Jeno grins. “Thank you, Nana.”

They share a few moments in silence before Minhyung comes back, panting with a letter in his hand. “Your highness, there’s been a letter received. It seems urgent. May I read it to you?”

Jaemin nods and closes his eyes. “Yes, please.”

Minhyung clears his throat before opening the letter and reading it to Jaemin. "To the King, his prince and the Crown Prince of Angelus, we have agreed to let our prince marry your Crown Prince. The only requirement is that he must treat our prince fairly; Otherwise, we will cut the engagement off."

Jaemin’s brows furrow. Marry? Engagement? That doesn’t sound right. He doesn’t recall his mothers telling him anything about a marriage, and they tell him everything. He gulps before listening to Minhyung read the next part.

Minhyung gasps before reading the next part. "Sincerely, King and Queen of Solis."

Jaemin's eyes snap open as Jeno gasps next to him.

"King and Queen of  _ what _ ?"

**Author's Note:**

> Updates every two weeks :) or whenever I feel like it lol


End file.
